Atu XII - The Cenotaph

[Aeon418]

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The Book of Thoth, (page 97): This card is beautiful in a strange, immemorial, moribund manner. It is the card of the Dying God; its importance in the present pack is merely that of the Cenotaph. It says: “If ever things get bad like that again, in the new Dark Ages which appear to threaten, this is the way to put things right.” But if things have to be put right, it shows that they are very wrong."

 

Crowley also mentions a looming Dark Age in his concluding remarks on Atu XX - The Aeon (page 116).

 

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The Book of Thoth: It is a thought far from comforting to the present generation, that 500 years of Dark Ages are likely to be upon us.

 

Where is Crowley going with this? What could possibly go so very wrong that it may require us to turn back to an obsolete spiritual world view?

 

A bit of a tangent. Throughout human history our species has engaged in various forms of communal worship. From the small scale rites of primitive tribal societies to the pervasive influence of today's world religions, humanity has sought ways to worship something greater than itself? There are many theories where this religious instinct comes from. One of them suggests that it is a kind of psychic compensatory mechanism which developed as a reaction to the emergence of individual self awareness. A defining characteristic of self awareness is a sense of separate existence and of separation from the universe around us. To counter this feeling of disconnection, humanity has developed various forms of communal worship that allows the individual devotee to experience a partial reconnection. Through the submergence of individual identity in a group identity, the individual can experience a kind of psychic relief from the effects of separate existence. Chief among these is the fear of death.

 

But what would happen if this system began to break down? Crowley anticipated the effects the scientific worldview would have upon how we view ourselves and the universe. The increasing secularization of society, while positive in many ways, has generated a lot of problems. The institutions that used to hold our societies together are breaking down. The recent trend towards identity tribalism and the quasi-religious identification with political ideologies could be seen as attempts by people to find some sort of replacement because, despite the decline of interest in organized religion, the religious instinct is still there. Crowley's prediction of 500 years of Dark Ages is his guess at how long it will take us to find a new way to experience Communion with the universe. What form this will take is hinted at in the Book of Thoth (page 97).

 

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The Book of Thoth: It should be the chieftest aim of the wise to rid mankind of the insolence of self-sacrifice, of the calamity of chastity; faith must be slain by certainty, and chastity by ecstasy.

 

Direct spiritual experience! It is the Gnosis that we are the universe itself that turns everything upside down. It is a baptism in the Waters of Life (Binah) that dissolves the illusory sense of separate existence that is generated by the ego-self. (3 of Swords - Sorrow) The Thoth Tarot's Hanged Man is as pale as a corpse because he has drained every drop of his personal life blood into the Cup of Babalon - the Universal Life. Because he no longer identifies himself with the incarnated mind and body he has transcended sorrow and suffering. He is a Cenotaph, an empty tomb. From this perspective self sacrifice makes no sense because there is no individual self to be sacrificed. That view of life is the wrong way round. 

 

From this perspective the traditional interpretations of this card get turned on their head.

 

Enforced sacrifice, punishment, loss, fatal or voluntary, suffering, defeat, failure, and death are transformed into liberation, freedom, spiritual riches (every star possesses boundless wealth), joy, victory, success, life. 

 

Hopefully this transformation of human consciousness won't necessitate 500 years of Dark Ages. However Crowley may not have been that optimistic when he subtitled Atu XVI - WAR. Humanity may to reluctant to surrender its ego-identity based view of the universe without a fight.             

Edited June 22, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[smw]

17 hours ago, Aeon418 said:

 

Crowley also mentions a looming Dark Age in his concluding remarks on Atu XX - The Aeon (page 116).

 

 

Where is Crowley going with this? What could possibly go so very wrong that it may require us to turn back to an obsolete spiritual world view?

 

Hopefully this transformation of human consciousness won't necessitate 500 years of Dark Ages. However Crowley may not have been that optimistic when he subtitled Atu XVI - WAR. Humanity may to reluctant to surrender its ego-identity based view of the universe without a fight.             

Atu XVI is traditionally called the house of God & there are many mansions…

Hopefully there will be no need for war. 

[Aeon418]

1 hour ago, smw said:

Atu XVI is traditionally called the house of God & there are many mansions…

Hopefully there will be no need for war. 

 

It depends on how we interpret War. The Tower card is a picture of the individual ego, walled off from the universe. Within the walls of that fortress there is nothing but the subjective perception of I and Me and Mine.

 

In the past the Water (Mem) of faith would have served to bind together isolated units of consciousness in a common cause or shared belief. But as faith breaks down the excesses of isolated subjectivity begin to manifest as conflict between individuals. 

 

Crowley's comment about 500 years of Dark Ages is an allusion to the agony of Christ on the Cross. It is a metaphor for the struggles of the isolated individual ego that feels no connection to anything beyond itself. Before the death of Jesus the sky grows dark and then he cries out, "Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani,” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Crowley's "Dark Ages" are an intermediate stage where faith has been lost, but no direct spiritual experience has replaced it. It's almost like the Hanged Man hanging from nothing.

 

Crowley thought this sort of crises would occur in the collective consciousness of humanity as it transitioned from faith to direct gnosis. How much strife and turmoil this will cause before the "lightning strikes" is anyone's guess.

[smw]

19 hours ago, Aeon418 said:

 

It depends on how we interpret War. The Tower card is a picture of the individual ego, walled off from the universe. Within the walls of that fortress there is nothing but the subjective perception of I and Me and Mine.

 

I’m seeing some associations here with the 4 of Disks, the establishment of the material Universe. Law & order and Authority.  Also with the earlier discussion of the ring fenced (Cheth) mound of the Sun Card. 

 

Curiously,  I used to think of the 4 of disks to as an empty place related to past experiences and possibly lives, a little close  to the palpitations of the abyss. 
 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by smw

[Aeon418]

2 hours ago, smw said:

I’m seeing some associations here with the 4 of Disks, the establishment of the material Universe. Law & order and Authority.  Also with the earlier discussion of the ring fenced (Cheth) mound of the Sun Card. 

 

Curiously,  I used to think of the 4 of disks to as an empty place related to past experiences and possibly lives, a little close  to the palpitations of the abyss. 

 

There is an interesting parallel in Crowley's vision of the 11th Aethyr which describes the "fortress on the edge of the abyss." The fortress is described in Yesod(9) terms, but Yesod = 80 = Peh, the Tower. This is the point in the initiatory path were the Exempt Adept in Chesed (number 4) and is "abandoned" by his Angel and prepares to leap into the Abyss. The closing words of that vision are interesting.

 

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And I said unto the Angel:

Is there not one appointed as a warden?

And he said:

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani.

Such an ecstasy of anguish racks me that I cannot give it voice, yet I know it is but as the anguish of Gethsemane. And that is the last word of the Aethyr. The outposts are passed, and before the seer extends the outermost Abyss.

 

The anguish of Gethsemane is a reference to Jesus praying for the  Cup to pass from him. But there can be no Vicarious Atonement. The Adept must pour every drop their personal self into the Cup of Babalon - the Universal Life. This is mirrored on a lower plane in Crowley's comments about 500 years of Dark Ages. Instead of being abandoned by the Angel, it is the breakdown in faith which severs what little connection there was between humanity and the divine. Vicarious Atonement through the Dying God is no longer enough because this Cup cannot be passed on to another. You must do this yourself.

 

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Gunther: "It is not accomplished by vicarious atonement and faith in the labors of another; within the crucible of each individual heart the coin must be redeemed by self-sustained effort. The price is paid with our own blood, not by faith in the blood of another."

 

The Hanged Man is symbolic of this path of attainment in general because he is the Master of the Temple who hangs suspended from the path of Daleth as the "Lamp of the Abyss." (see BoT, p.220) Daleth + Mem = 44, DM - blood. The spilling of his water (Mem) irrigates the desert of the Abyss, transforming Da'ath into Daleth. (DOTh, 474 - 40 = 434, DLTh)  

 

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Now and again Travellers cross the desert; they come from the Great Sea, and to the Great Sea they go. As they go they spill water; one day they will irrigate the desert, till it flower. See! five footprints of a Camel! V.V.V.V.V.

  

Edited June 24, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[smw]

On 6/24/2023 at 2:42 PM, Aeon418 said:

 

There is an interesting parallel in Crowley's vision of the 11th Aethyr which describes the "fortress on the edge of the abyss." The fortress is described in Yesod(9) terms, but Yesod = 80 = Peh, the Tower. This is the point in the initiatory path were the Exempt Adept in Chesed (number 4) and is "abandoned" by his Angel and prepares to leap into the Abyss. The closing words of that vision are interesting

  

 

 

On 6/24/2023 at 2:42 PM, Aeon418 said:

 

There is an interesting parallel in Crowley's vision of the 11th Aethyr which describes the "fortress on the edge of the abyss." The fortress is described in Yesod(9) terms, but Yesod = 80 = Peh, the Tower. This is the point in the initiatory path were the Exempt Adept in Chesed (number 4) and is "abandoned" by his Angel and prepares to leap into the Abyss. The closing words of that vision are interesting.

 

 

The anguish of Gethsemane is a reference to Jesus praying for the  Cup to pass from him. But there can be no Vicarious Atonement. The Adept must pour every drop their personal self into the Cup of Babalon - the Universal Life. This is mirrored on a lower plane in Crowley's comments about 500 years of Dark Ages. Instead of being abandoned by the Angel, it is the breakdown in faith which severs what little connection there was between humanity and the divine. Vicarious Atonement through the Dying God is no longer enough because this Cup cannot be passed on to another. You must do this yourself

😮 😶‍🌫️this is a bit raggedy work in progress…

 

I have just been reading the 11 - 7 Aethyrs.
 

The visions seem to be suggesting that there is no real supernal  abyss at all. That it fell with the original  Eden. Only the ashes of Chorozon, smashed from the head of the Dragon blow at the ‘outer abyss’ at Yesod. This is the so called lower abyss of the cursed 10 Aethyr that Crowley crossed with Neuburg. It appears at first glance to be a total disaster with Crowley possessed & gone mad by Choronzon. However, the remedy is shown at the same time - Babalon as written in the sand. This astral remedy shown is a fore runner or “doorstep” clue to reaching the eventual throne of Binah. 
 

The book of the Law, or the  book of Creation, as communicated within this  Astral realm light, the magical light, is metaphorically the outer abyss- which can also ferment delusion, so the need for vigilance. It is Inherently well guarded. 
 

The Cry of the 11 Aethyr is (9) Yesod the foundation & site of the fortress of the abyss frontier, with the rest of the  spheres up to Binah established as astral creations also. Thus, The universe has been ‘shaken’ but not really. The 4 of Disks is a clue. It is the pictorial abyss fortress’ well guarded from earth - Malkuth.  

 

* 11 Aethyr - getting past the armies & the fortress of the frontier of the abyss. The way laid out. 

 

* 10th Aethyr - crossing the abyss and the fight with Choronzon. The sign of Babalon.

 

* 9 th Aethyr - (9 Yesod) The astral vision of the palace of the King’s Daughter. The Virgin - as the new Universe.
 

“and he points to the map of the Aethyrs, that are arranged as a flaming Sword, so that thirty Aethyrs go into the ten Sephiroth. And the first nine are infinitely Holy”

1-9 Holy 

(10 abyss crossing  doesn’t count as a Sephira) 

11-30 - relate to the existent material Universe, Malkuth 

 

The  ‘crossing’ & resurrection of the Jesus/Osiris archetype might also signfy this lower abyss from Malkuth to Yesod. The anguish would be still enormously great as this has to be done alone - as the realm of the Gods have already been breached, so the projection of the divine as separate & the possibility of external comforting  is no longer possible. The loneliness is acute. 

 

►

Or a more subtle reading of John 14, 18-21 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At  that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.    3 in 1, the Holy trinity - as one.

Edited June 25, 2023 by smw

[Aeon418]

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Luke. 23:44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

 

The curtain of the temple is Paroketh, the Veil that separates the Holy of Holies from the outer temple. On the Tree of Life the Veil of Paroketh sits just below the solar sphere of Tiphareth. It represents a veil in consciousness that separates the lower mind from it's true spiritual nature. While this veil is in place the mind identifies itself with the 4 lower spheres.

 

Netzach - emotions and passions.

Hod - rational thoughts and ideas.

Yesod - instincts and generative drives.

Malkuth - physical senses and the body.

 

These 4 elements are what we routinely identify ourselves with during life. The strength of that identification also makes these 4 elements a cross on which we are crucified. Our struggles and suffering are in direct proportion to this illusory identification of self. It is also the reason why spiritual awakening so difficult for us.  

 

These 4 lower elements of the self are represented on the Hanged Man card by the crossed legs. The upright triangle below the cross forms the symbol of the Golden Dawn. Traditionally this symbol was interpreted as the Redeeming Light descending into the Darkness. In the New Aeon this symbol is reinterpreted as the quaternary elevated by the trinity - or the Natural Self raised by the Fire of Spirit. The inverted character of this card suggests that this spiritual reorientation may be disorienting and quite possibly painful depending on how hard it is resisted before the Veil in consciousness is finally torn open.  

 

In Hebrew the Veil is PRKTh = 700. This is 400 + 300 - the Quaternary and the Trinity or Tau and Shin - the letters of cards XXI and XX respectively.

[Aeon418]

2 hours ago, smw said:

The visions seem to be suggesting that there is no real supernal  abyss at all.

 

Exactly! The Veil of the Abyss and its lower analogue the Veil of Paroketh, are a manifestation of individual self awareness. The perception that I am I is a rift in the continuity of existence. (Note the Hanged Man corresponds to the unifying element of Water.) In mythological biblical language it is the knowledge of good and evil or the perception of duality. Adam and Eve don't realise they are naked and different from each other until they eat the fruit.

 

The path of initiation is a progressive healing of that rift in consciousness via the Tree of Life. The same tree that the mythical Adam and Eve were supposedly prevented from eating from and living forever. Other sources call this the return to the womb of the mother. The Hanged Man is the babe in the cosmic womb who hangs from the path of Daleth, who is "a continuity of life, an inheritance of blood, which binds all forms of Nature together." 

 

A quick side note on the 10th Aethyr. There is no "vision" or "voice" of the 10th Aethyr. Crowley was seated in the triangle of evocation in Samadhi. He had withdrawn himself to the City of the Pyramids - Binah - leaving his mind and body temporarily vacant and open to possession by Choronzon. The actual record of the 10th Aethyr is almost entirely Victor Neuberg's experience of what happens when the body and mind are left without any connection to the Supernal Triad.

 

Now take this symbolism and step it down to the levels of normal human consciousness and reflect on the title of Binah as the "parent of faith." If faith is a mechanism whereby individual human consciousness maintains a very limited connection with the Supernal Triad, what might happen if that same faith were to breakdown? Maybe Crowley's 500 years of Dark Ages is an intermediate stage between the loss of faith and the opening of the Veil of Paroketh.

 

The esoteric writer, Donald Tyson, explored this in an article called, The Enochian Apocalypse. The Enochian Apocalypse - Sub-Figura vel Liber Caeruleus (bibliotecapleyades.net) Personally I think his final conclusion is a little off target and bit over the top, but maybe not entirely.     

Edited June 25, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[Aeon418]

On 6/24/2023 at 12:32 PM, smw said:

I’m seeing some associations here with the 4 of Disks, the establishment of the material Universe. Law & order and Authority.  Also with the earlier discussion of the ring fenced (Cheth) mound of the Sun Card. 

 

Your mention of the Sun card has just jogged my memory about something Phyllis Seckler wrote in her Thoth Tarot book (p.136).

 

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The Wall around this mound or mountain cautions restraint and control of the unleashing of unconscious forces. The forces are there, we cannot run away from them, but we must guard against being overcome by the contents of the unconscious life. The wall represents the organization of the conscious mind as it shuts out that which is not useful to its development and includes that which aids the True Will.

 

There are plenty of examples of the eruption of unconscious forces in our present age which are not controlled at all. The mobs shouting death to anything which does not meet their approval are abundant.

 

This brings to mind Carl Jung's idea that the appearance of the Dying God archetype was, in his words, "a tutelary image or amulet against the archetypal powers that threatened to possess everyone." This sounds similar to Seckler's description of the function of the Wall on the Sun card. In fact there are two crucified figures at the bottom of the hill.

 

Maybe the new freedom promised by the Sun card requires caution and control now that the old guiding principle, the Dying God archetype, has been superseded. This ties in with Crowley's warning about things going wrong, requiring a return to the Dying God as a way to put things right. The world wars of the past could be seen as symptoms of mass possession by unconscious forces. But what about today? Is the new guiding principle the True Will or something else? 

Edited June 25, 2023 by Aeon418

[smw]

On 6/25/2023 at 5:16 PM, Aeon418 said:

 

 

Now take this symbolism and step it down to the levels of normal human consciousness and reflect on the title of Binah as the "parent of faith." 

I’m not familiar with Binah having the title of parent of Faith? 

[smw]

On 6/25/2023 at 5:16 PM, Aeon418 said:

 Maybe Crowley's 500 years of Dark Ages is an intermediate stage between the loss of faith and the opening of the Veil of Paroketh.

 

The esoteric writer, Donald Tyson, explored this in an article called, The Enochian Apocalypse. The Enochian Apocalypse - Sub-Figura vel Liber Caeruleus (bibliotecapleyades.net) Personally I think his final conclusion is a little off target and bit over the top, but maybe not entirely.     

Jason Louv in his book John Dee and the Empire of Angels discusses this too. Whether the Angelic communications of Dee & Kelly were an attempt to open the doors of the Apocalypse, furthered by Crowley’s work. Interestingly, he mentions the dual nature of symbols given by the Angels. The white horse of the Conqueror, both Christ and anti-Christ.

 

The hedge is that accelerating the devastation of the apocalypse will bring forward the rule of the returning Christ figure, thus, inverting all  Christian ethics and destroying all world religions for this purpose is part of the plan. 

Edited June 27, 2023 by smw

[smw]

On 6/25/2023 at 5:16 PM, Aeon418 said:

 

Maybe Crowley's 500 years of Dark Ages is an intermediate stage between the loss of faith and the opening of the Veil of Paroketh 

Not sure what you mean here.  The veil of Paroketh, the Holy of Holies was described as being ‘rent’, torn by Christ centuries ago in that Luke verse you gave. 
 

eta… do you mean that once the veil of Paroketh was ripped open, a little bit of ‘faith’ kept the turmoil at bay? 
 

not sure that is entirely convincing - if that is what you mean. I’m probably being a bit dense though 

Edited June 27, 2023 by smw

[smw]

On 6/24/2023 at 2:42 PM, Aeon418 said:

The anguish of Gethsemane is a reference to Jesus praying for the  Cup to pass from him. But there can be no Vicarious Atonement. The Adept must pour every drop their personal self into the Cup of Babalon - the Universal Life. This is mirrored on a lower plane in Crowley's comments about 500 years of Dark Ages. Instead of being abandoned by the Angel, it is the breakdown in faith which severs what little connection there was between humanity and the divine. Vicarious Atonement through the Dying God is no longer enough because this Cup cannot be passed on to another. You must do this yourself.

Ok, I am gettting confused. Maybe it is because I don’t resonate with the vicarious atonement tenet of the mainstream Christian canon. 

 

I see Jesus as praying to his father with anguish as he could not understand why he had been forsaken & abandoned at this lowest point. 
 

However, after  his death the sky went black, presumably with an eclipse of Sun by the Moon. A symbol that could suggest the feminine eclipsing solar consciousness.
 

He is said to have traversed the underworld for 3 days and nights and defeats death with resurrection. The veil of Paroketh, the Holy of Holies has been torn. The path back up the tree is now open for everyone to do the same. 
 

It appears to be an experiential outcome not one relying on faith. 

[smw]

1 hour ago, smw said:

Ok, I am gettting confused. Maybe it is because I don’t resonate with the vicarious atonement tenet of the mainstream Christian canon. 

 

I see Jesus as praying to his father with anguish as he could not understand why he had been forsaken & abandoned at this lowest point. 
 

However, after  his death the sky went black, presumably with an eclipse of Sun by the Moon. A symbol that could suggest the feminine eclipsing solar consciousness.
 

He is said to have traversed the underworld for 3 days and nights and defeats death with resurrection. The veil of Paroketh, the Holy of Holies has been torn. The path back up the tree is now open for everyone to do the same. 
 

It appears to be an experiential outcome not one relying on faith. 

* the rendering of the veil actually sounds higher up, the abyss of D’aath, Eden. 

[Aeon418]

4 hours ago, smw said:

I’m not familiar with Binah having the title of parent of Faith? 

 

It's from the 32 Paths of Wisdom.  

 

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The Third Intelligence is called the Sanctifying Intelligence, the Foundation of Primordial Wisdom; it is also called the Creator of Faith, and its roots are in Amen. It is the parent of faith, whence faith emanates.

 

In this context Faith is a conduit for the Spiritual Intuition of Binah (the Great Sea), which is reflected into the "waters" of personal consciousness. But this reflection takes place at the level of the subconscious mind. Because this connection is primarily subconscious, the conscious mind only experiences this as intuitions or feelings and emotions that partially communicate a sense of spiritual wellbeing and connection to something greater than the individual self.

 

Where I think Crowley was going with his 500 years of Dark Ages is a warning about the dangers of a loss of faith and the spiritual connection that it provided. Without that the conscious mind begins to feel a lack of meaning, where everything seems as if it is "up in the air." Polarization and conflict are manifestations of this lack of a unifying principle.

 

We see these trends today in Western societies as part of the push towards secularism. But Crowley is not saying we should try to turn the clock back and embrace the superstitions of the past. That is the solution of last resort when everything has gone very, very wrong. Rather he is pointing to the development of a new and deeper kind of spiritual connection that fully manifests in the conscious mind. Instead of faith in the Hanged Man, one is to become the Hanged Man by going through the transformative process that he symbolises. Faith must be slain by the certainty of direct spiritual experience and thereby re-establish the connection to Binah on a higher and more direct basis than ever before.       

Edited June 27, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[Aeon418]

4 hours ago, smw said:

Not sure what you mean here.  The veil of Paroketh, the Holy of Holies was described as being ‘rent’, torn by Christ centuries ago in that Luke verse you gave.

 

The crucifixion of Jesus can be reinterpreted in a mystical way that symbolises the struggle for spiritual awakening. Crucified on the cross of the 4 elements, the individual struggles and suffers in the world of incarnation. The first work involves a balancing of the 4 elements.

 

But any suffering involved is not a sign of glory or holiness, it is sign of resistance. All the struggles and pain are a means whereby the individual is guided to a place where they are finally able and ready to surrender to the influence of the divine.

 

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Liber LXV, chp.2

59. But I have called unto Thee, and I have journeyed unto Thee, and it availed me not.

60. I waited patiently, and Thou wast with me from the beginning.

 

Once all the struggle ends, then and only then, will the veil (in consciousness) be rent and THAT which was there all along is revealed. But the surrender symbolised by the Hanged Man is a very difficult thing for the ego to do. 

 

Quote

 

Liber LXV, chp.2 

62. But these thy prophets; they must cry aloud and scourge themselves; they must cross trackless wastes and unfathomed oceans; to await Thee is the end, not the beginning.

 

 

[Aeon418]

Paul Foster Case on the Hanged Man.

 

" .... every human personality is completely dependent upon the All."

 

"As soon as this truth is realized, the only logical and sensible course of conduct is a complete self-surrender. This surrender begins in the mind. It is the submission of the personal consciousness to the direction of the Universal Mind."

 

"Paradoxically, this total submission of the personal life to Life itself makes us intensely  positive in relation to other persons, and in relation to the conditions of our environment. Nobody who follows this course ever becomes a human door-mat. Consciousness of the support of something transcending mere personal human power always results in positive mental attitudes. In the face of some of the appearances confronting us as we go through life, we need something more than just "our" personal energies to carry us through. In order to to have courage and persistence in spite of seeming disappointments and difficulties we must know ourselves to be vehicles of a power to which nothing can be an insurmountable obstacle."

 

"The mental attitude suggested by the Hanged Man, then, is "Not my will, but thine." It is ever the position of the adept ...."

 

"It is an attitude born of the knowledge that "my will" is an illusive, personal thing which is but the reflection, or mask, of "Thy Will," the real Will, which is the purpose or motive of the cosmic Life - a Will absolutely free, and certain to be realized."

..............................

 

While reflecting on these quotes, my eye is drawn towards the inverted Ankh from which the Hanged Man is suspended. It suggests to me the relationship between Universal Life and the personal life of the individual. It is THAT which supports our existence. Its Will seeks expression through the individual self.

 

The word "thou" in "Do what thou wilt" is not the personal self. It is the Universal Life or the Cosmic Mind as expressed through the individual self. This is frequently obstructed by the ego-self, with its constant selfish demands of I and Me and Mine. The Hanged Man card suggests a reorientation of mental attitudes towards something greater than the individual self. In the past it was faith that provided the individual with a partial means of surrender to THAT which supported them. The Hanged Man of the New Aeon is directly nailed to his true purpose in life through "love under will" as an ongoing expression of the radiant Star Self (top of the card) that is Eternity.   

Edited July 2, 2023 by Aeon418
Typo

[smw]

On 6/27/2023 at 3:39 PM, Aeon418 said:

 

It's from the 32 Paths of Wisdom.  

The Third Intelligence is called the Sanctifying Intelligence, the Foundation of Primordial Wisdom; it is also called the Creator of Faith, and its roots are in Amen. It is the parent of faith, whence faith emanates.

 

In this context Faith is a conduit for the Spiritual Intuition of Binah (the Great Sea), which is reflected into the "waters" of personal consciousness.

Apparently, the 32 paths of wisdom concept  derives from the 32 names of God in Genesis chapter 1. The third sanctifying intelligence is  placed on the Hebrew tree at Chokmah, Wisdom, the Father. 

 

Binah 1:6

 

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

 

This seems a parallel of  your suggestion of the division of the personal waters of unconscious being divided by the greater. 

Edited July 2, 2023 by smw

[smw]

6 hours ago, Aeon418 said:

The Hanged Man of the New Aeon is directly nailed to his true purpose in life through "love under will" as an ongoing expression of the radiant Star Self (top of the card) that is Eternity.   

Now that is a bit ouch…👀

[smw]

2 hours ago, smw said:

Apparently, the 32 paths of wisdom concept  derives from the 32 names of God in Genesis chapter 1.

 * Elohim, 32 names of God. Or divine powers distinct from Tetragrammaton IHVH  (W.W.Westcott)

Edited July 2, 2023 by smw

[Aeon418]

14 hours ago, smw said:

Now that is a bit ouch…👀

 

Crowley mentions the nails in the second task of the attainment of the the grade of Adeptus Major in One Star in Sight. 

 

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Secondly, he must keep silence, while he nails his body to the tree of his creative will, in the shape of that Will, leaving his head and arms to form the symbol of Light, as if to make oath that his every thought, word and deed should express the Light derived from the God with which he has identified his life, his love and his liberty

 

This suggests a binding act whereby the self is shaped and conformed to be an expression of the True Will. In a similar way that the balancing work of the path of Lamed (Atu VIII) removes the temptation to wander from the path of the True Will, the pacifying and stilling action of the path of Mem (Atu XII) facilitates the necessary submission and surrender to the divine influence. It may possibly be a way of saying that the more you struggle against this process, the more unnecessary pain and suffering you inflict on yourself.

 

The fact that the Hanged Man does not have a visible mouth suggests the quality of silence that is attributed to this path and card. The position of card XII on the Tree of Life also points to the connection between personal Volition(5) and Intellect(8) to the relative stillness or turbulence of the Waters of the Soul. The card title, Hanged Man, can be interpreted as Suspended Mind because of the link between the words Man and the Sanskrit, Manas - Mind. The suspension or stilling of manas/mind is the way in which the individual harmonizes their individual self with the Water of the Great Sea of Binah. This influence may also be indicated by the 3 nails. 3 being Binah of course. (And Vau = Nail = 6. Three nails = 666) Piercing with nails is also an emblem of the alchemical Fixing of the Volatile.

 

Beyond this there is the higher symbolism of the Ankh being the sandals of the Masters of the Temple, cast down through the Abyss in the vision of the 14th Aethyr that "bringeth hope and help to them that dwell in the darkness of thought, and drink of the poison of life."

[smw]

On 7/3/2023 at 2:12 PM, Aeon418 said:

 

Crowley mentions the nails in the second task of the attainment of the the grade of Adeptus Major in One Star in Sight. 

 

 

This suggests a binding act whereby the self is shaped and conformed to be an expression of the True Will. In a similar way that the balancing work of the path of Lamed (Atu VIII) removes the temptation to wander from the path of the True Will, the pacifying and stilling action of the path of Mem (Atu XII) facilitates the necessary submission and surrender to the divine influence. It may possibly be a way of saying that the more you struggle against this process, the more unnecessary pain and suffering you inflict on yourself.

 

The fact that the Hanged Man does not have a visible mouth suggests the quality of silence that is attributed to this path and card. The position of card XII on the Tree of Life also points to the connection between personal Volition(5) and Intellect(8) to the relative stillness or turbulence of the Waters of the Soul. The card title, Hanged Man, can be interpreted as Suspended Mind because of the link between the words Man and the Sanskrit, Manas - Mind. The suspension or stilling of manas/mind is the way in which the individual harmonizes their individual self with the Water of the Great Sea of Binah. 

 

 

 

A little random, I was just looking through the SY or book of creation translation, when  I saw this 

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He bound the essences of the twenty-two letters on his tongue, and God disclosed to him the secrets of them. God has carried these through the waters, he has borne them aloft through fire, and He has stamped them in the storms of the air; He has distributed them among the seven stars, and has assigned them to twelve celestial constellations. Amen.

Fire-volition, Intellect-Air, &  the Waters of the Soul, the Hanged Man keeping mum and internal reflection...

Edited July 6, 2023 by smw

[Aeon418]

On 7/6/2023 at 9:35 PM, smw said:

A little random, I was just looking through the SY or book of creation translation, when  I saw this 

Fire-volition, Intellect-Air, &  the Waters of the Soul, the Hanged Man keeping mum and internal reflection...

 

Here's a different way to look at it. Each of the three pillars on the Tree of Life corresponds to one of the three Mother Letters; Aleph, Mem, and Shin via the elemental correspondences of the three Supernal Sephiroth..

 

Kether = Air - Aleph.

Chokmah = Fire - Shin.

Binah = Water - Mem.

 

This is why it is sometimes said that the path of Mem is the lower Binah. Many of the themes of Crossing the Abyss are reflected on a lower level on the path of Mem. The reorientation of the ego-self away from its habitual patterns of thought and behaviour can be a source of pain and suffering during spiritual awakening. 

 

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9. Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass & are done; but there is that which remains.

 

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The Book of Thoth: "This card, attributed to the letter Mem, represents the element of Water. It would perhaps be better to say that it represents the spiritual function of water in the economy of initiation; it is a baptism which is also a death.

 

The designs of the Tarot in Liber 777 describe the Hanged Man as having his "mouth resolutely shut." He is practicing silence, the virtue of Binah, to quieten the mind and experience the baptism in water that dissolves the ego and reveals "that which remains."

 

On the higher plane it is Choronzon that fears concentration and silence more than anything else. He employs constant talk and distraction to prevent the adept from dissolving his/her self in the Cup of Babalon.  

 

 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Aeon418

[Aeon418]

Paths of Wisdom by John Michael Greer (p.174).

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Ultimately, the one truly worthwhile sacrifice is the sacrifice of the self. .... Its difficulty - and it is difficult, perhaps more difficult than any other human act - is, however, a function of misunderstanding. The true self is precisely what is not sacrificed. Like the Path of Mem, what is real in each of us remains untouched by the transformations that pass through it. The problem, of course, lies in realizing this.

 

 

The True Self is never sacrificed. It is only ever revealed by the sacrifice of that which is not-self. Unfortunately our identification with the body and the mind make this a painful process. We suffer in direct proportion to how much we identify with the illusory self. The appearance of the Hanged Man may be a sign that we are too closely identified with our problems and need a different perspective to see what is really going on.

 

Unfortunately, many people work really hard for their suffering and are very reluctant to let it go because it has come to define who they mistakenly think they are.

[Aeon418]

The Book of Thoth (p.97-98)

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This explains the original attribution of the Atu [XII] to Water, and the sound M the return to Eternal Silence, as in the word AUM. This card is therefore specially sacred to the Mystic and the attitude of the figure is a ritual posture in the Practice called “The Sleep of Shiloam”.

 

To the best of my knowledge Crowley only explains this "Sleep of Shiloam" in two places, and even then his comments are brief. But in Liber Aleph there is a chapter called De Somno Lucido - On the Sleep of Light - in which Crowley distinguishes between Lunar and Solar sleep. 

 

Lunar sleep: "For to him whose physical Needs of whatever Kind are not truly satisfied cometh a Lunar or physical Sleep appointed to refresh and recreate by Cleansing and Repose."

 

The Lunar sleep is basically just regular sleep. 😴

 

Solar sleep: "but on him that is bodily pure the Lord bestoweth a Solar or Lucid Sleep, wherein move Images of pure Light fashioned by the True Will. And this is called by the Qabalists the Sleep of Shiloam." 

 

Just to be clear, Crowley is not describing what is commonly referred to as Lucid Dreaming, where the dreamer obtains a form of semi-conscious awareness while still in the dream state. Instead he is talking about a state of awareness that is totally receptive and passive like the element of Water itself. This is what he means by "bodily pure." The common Lunar sleep is influenced by the needs of the body. While the Solar sleep is totally still and receptive and has no desire in any particular direction. This suggests an image of still waters that allow reflection to occur, which Crowley describes as "Images of pure Light fashioned by the True Will."

 

This is described symbolically in the Holy Book, Liber LXV, IV:9-10.

 

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9. In the garden of immortal kisses, O thou brilliant One, shine forth! Make Thy mouth an opium-poppy, that one kiss is the key to the infinite sleep and lucid, the sleep of Shi-loh-am.

10. In my sleep I beheld the Universe like a clear crystal without one speck.

 

 

 This mystical stuff is all well and good, but how can it be interpreted in a more mundane way suitable to a typical Tarot reading? A key may be the way in which the Sleep of Shiloam allows the light of the True Will to be reflected into consciousness without distortion. This could suggest a meditation practice of the more passive and quietist kind such as simple breath awareness to calm the choppy internal waters that are disturbed by thoughts and desires. Or maybe even the Zen meditation method of non-awareness called Zazen or Shikentaza, which means "Just Sitting." In this practice one does not even focus on the breath. One simply observes the mind without attachment and allows the waves of thought to ebb and flow as they will. The 13th century Japanese Soto Zen Master, Eihei Dogen, learned this from the Chinese Cha'an masters who called this practice, Silent illumination and Serene Reflection.